Jobs and Hobbies
by artemis-nz
Summary: So how exactly did Daniel and Rusty meet up in the first place? Based around a certain bar scene from the movie. Vague Daniel/Rusty.


"_Saul makes ten."_

He remembers when he first met Rusty.  
Even then, everyone called him that. It was ages ago, now, and if it wasn't such a cliche, he would've said he remembered it like it was yesterday.  
Of course, the whole first meeting was made memorable by the circumstance. Not because it was really so out of the ordinary, but because it simply wasn't what people would imagine Rusty ever doing when they bumped into him on the street.  
Manager of some up-and-coming company, perhaps, or even some casual actor or model. He could just hear Rusty's snort if he were ever to say that. In any case, what people saw Rusty as, no matter what he was doing, it didn't match up to that first meeting, with Rusty's head half-way down a toilet.  
And retching too, of course.

"_Ten should do it don't you think?"_

By that stage it was evident that Rusty had nothing more but bile to throw up, because the chain had already flushed numerous times, and the soft splatter of vomit had ceased to hit Daniel's ears. Turned out they both knew a cousin's friend of a friend, or something like that. A stag party, so it was only natural that people were getting too drunk to care anymore. From the varying sounds coming from that particular bathroom, Daniel was sure Rusty wasn't the first one to have gone over the limit, and even more sure that Rusty wouldn't be the last, even if it _was_ already two-whatever in the morning.

"_You think we need one more?"_

The door wasn't locked, so when Daniel gave it a nudge with its foot it creaked obligingly open to revel a young(ish) man with blonde hair. Tall, solidly build without actually being fat at all, slight tan... Daniel noted all these things to store at the back of his mind as he usually did with people he found of even slight interest, and waited for whoever-it-was to notice he had some company.

"_You think we need one more."_

When he did notice a good minute or so later, he blinked, blinked again harder, and peered up at Daniel, who smiled good naturedly and held out a hand.  
"Daniel Ocean", he said.  
Rusty took the proffered hand.  
"Rusty", he replied, voice surprisingly smooth after all that retching. "What do you want?"  
Daniel took a moment to think about this.  
"Nothing", he eventually said. "Yet."  
Rusty didn't seem to find this answer strange in the least.  
"Oh", he said. Then, after another moment's silence: "I need a ride home. Girlfriend'll kill me if I drive home like this."  
The vomiting had obviously helped, since Rusty appeared to know what he was saying, as well as fairly articulate directions as Daniel drove, the air delightfully cool on his face.  
"Here?"  
Rusty got out of the car, steady enough on his feet. He didn't stumble.  
"Thanks."  
"No problem."  
"... So what did you want?"  
Daniel knew, even then, that this young man, somewhere in his twenties, was fairly intelligent for being just a 'kid'.  
"Your help with something."  
From then on it had been easy – the next day, having actually remembered everything that had gone on from the night – or rather morning – before, Rusty called Daniel's mobile. The girlfriend, apparently, had been very understanding.

"_Alright, we'll get one more."_

The months, years afterwards, had been what Daniel always thought of privately in his mind as 'jobs', though Rusty probably thought of them more as 'hobbies.' He got bored easily, he said, so the stealing – or perhaps 'thieving' was a better word for a hobby – was just a stop-gap for him until he found something better to do with his time. So he claimed. To be fair, he did once mention something about hotels.  
That first meeting was years ago, but some things never change.  
Like Rusty still being a kid, probably until he hits sixty. Even then, Daniel still guesses he'll have blonde hair. Bleached, but still blonde. And big white coats. And always very dedicated at his so-called hobbies.  
So the day that Daniel came out of jail, proposing a plan bigger than all the rest put together, Rusty was all for it.

_Bored with the wrestling on the small screen, Daniel and Rusty left the bar, and the door swung closed behind them._

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**My little imagined back-story on how Daniel and Rusty met; something that sprung to mind while I was watching the movie the other day when it came to the above-mentioned bar scene. Just to clear up any confusion, the words in italics is what's happening in the present. Everything else is Daniel remembering. My first fanfic not on an anime, so be nice and review!**


End file.
